Couple charged in Hampton Falls standoff indicted

HAMPTON FALLS — A couple who allegedly broke into several cars and then tried to allude police by barricading themselves in a Hampton Falls apartment back in January, is now facing charges in connection to those crimes in Superior Court.

HAMPTON FALLS — A couple who allegedly broke into several cars and then tried to allude police by barricading themselves in a Hampton Falls apartment back in January, is now facing charges in connection to those crimes in Superior Court.

Daren Gragg, 37, and Melissa Amato, 31, were both indicted by a Rockingham County grand jury this month for allegedly breaking into their neighbor's apartment on Jan. 14. The incident led to an eight-hour standoff between them and police before the couple surrendered.

In addition to the burglary charge, both were indicted on charges of falsifying physical evidence and three counts of receiving stolen property. Gragg was also indicted on six counts of being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon.

The events leading to the standoff began in Amesbury, Mass., at about 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 14, when police were called to a gas station to check on a suspicious vehicle, according to Amesbury police Lt. Bill Scholtz.

When an officer responded, Gragg and Amato were sleeping in a car with dozens of items that “obviously didn't belong to them,” said Scholtz.

Police said the suspects gave police false names and fled while an officer was trying to identify them.

Scholtz said an investigation led police to a Hampton Falls apartment, where Police Chief Robbie Dirsa was able to help find the suspects in part because their vehicle was “very identifiable.”

Amesbury and Hampton Falls police requested help from the State Police SWAT unit “as a result of (the suspects') failure to comply with officers' demands and the serious nature of this incident,” according to Col. Robert Quinn, director of the New Hampshire State Police.

Quinn said after eight hours, the suspects surrendered and were arrested without incident.

According to the indictment handed up by the grand jury, Gragg had a crossbow, .45 Stars Interarms handgun, stiletto knife, dagger, curved metallic knuckles and a switchblade in his possession.

Gragg and Amato were also indicted this month on unrelated charges brought forward by the Seabrook Police Department, including breaking into a Seabrook home on Jan. 2.

The couple was also charged with theft by unauthorized taking. Gragg was accused of taking a surveillance camera from Walmart on Dec. 30 while Amato allegedly took several items off the shelve at Walmart that day and then presented the items to a customer service for a cash return.